Wednesday, April 14th, 1999

Announcements: None

Lecture notes:
I.  Nuclear Weapons
    A. Three Types
        1. Fission
            a. A bombs
            b. Type of bomb used during World War II
            c. Gets its power from splitting atoms
            d. Uses Enstein's equations
            e. Most have a radioactive source, usually uranium
                1. It causes the best chain reaction
            f. Amount needed for explosion to be successful is called the critical mass
            g. In modern bombs they have the uranium in two separate parts so that they will come together when the
                bomb is detinated and will therefore be safer.
        2. Fusion
            a. Emplode substance
            b.  Mainly uses platonium
            c. more powerful than fission bombs
            d. Most bombs are fission-fusion-fission bombs
        3. Neutron
            a. Technically illegal
            b. Kills all lifeforms, but leaves all buildings behind
            c. Acts like a microwave
     B. Three types of Nuclear Weapons
        1. Landbased
            a. largest part of the Russian arsenal
            b. ICBM ( Inter-Continental  Balistic Missiles)
            c. Russia has rail launched and mobile missiles
        2. Airbased
            a. That is what the B1, B2, B52 bombers are used for
            b. Cruise missiles
        3. Seabased
            a. Submarine launched
            b. Say the reason they stay mobile, they don't want to stay in one place too long so it won't be seen
II. Nuclear War: How?
    A. Accident
        1. Human error
        2. Canada geese showed up on radar and the US thought it was the Soviets
        3. When the US planes move bombs from base to base, they sometimes drop them  ( in the 70s one fell in
            North Carolina)
    B. Irrational leaders
        1. Sadam Hussein
    C. Bolt our of the Blue
        1. Strike out of the blue against the US by USSR
        2. Feared most by US
        3. Also, can be a nuclear state attacking a non-nuclear state
     D. Last Gasp Defense
         1. If a nuclear country is losing in a war, may use it to take people out
     E. Escalation
          1. Drop one nuclear bomb and then starts chain effect
    F. These crisis are dangerous because the system is almost without a leader
    G. This way they know they can still function if leader or capital  is destroyed
III.  First strike capabilities is the ability to in flick enough damage to the other party crippling beyond compare
    A. Ability to with stand a first strike
    B. Watch fro response
    C. Targeting others military sites
IV. Nuclear Strageties
    A. MAD: Each can attack and destroy by using a triad
        a. The US policy
    B. NUTS: Nuclear Utilization Targeting Stragety
        a. Assumes nuclear fightablitily
        b. Stragety the USSR uses
V. Current dangers of Nuclear Weapons
     A. Anti-Balistic Missle Systems
        1. System to defend against attack
        2. US and USSR in the 70s, outlawed these systems
        3. Decreases other states abilities
        4. Reasons why it is bad:
            a. Will attack now because in x years systems will be operational